Meaning, desire, and God: an expansive naturalist approach

International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 82 (4-5):310-322 (2021)
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Abstract

ABSTRACT I offer an approach to the problem of life’s meaning which poses a radical challenge to some of the familiar terms of this debate. First, I defend an expansive form of naturalism which involves a rejection of the common assumption that naturalism and theism are logically incompatible and offers a framework from which to rethink some of the central concepts operative in discussions of life’s meaning. Second, I defend a ‘desire solution’ to the problem of life’s meaning. My initial inspiration is Richard Taylor’s version of such a position as articulated in his book Good and Evil. I argue that this solution is best articulated from within an expansive naturalist framework, raise some doubts about Taylor’s metaphysics, and make a connection with the Nietzschean problem of nihilism.

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Fiona Ellis
University of Roehampton

Citations of this work

The Meanings of God: Reply to Four Critics.Thaddeus Metz - 2021 - International Journal of Philosophy and Theology 82 (4-5):366-374.

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References found in this work

The Sovereignty of Good.Iris Murdoch - 1959 - Philosophy 47 (180):178-180.
Are Moral Requirements Hypothetical Imperatives?John McDowell & I. G. McFetridge - 1978 - Aristotelian Society Supplementary Volume 52 (1):13-42.
Needs, Values, Truth.David Wiggins - 1987 - Revue Philosophique de la France Et de l'Etranger 180 (1):106-106.
Metaphysics as a Guide to Morals.Iris Murdoch - 1995 - Journal of Speculative Philosophy 9 (1):78-81.
God and Philosophy.Emmanuel Levinas - 1978 - Philosophy Today 22 (2):127-145.

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